If you’d like to improve your working life with a job that’s a good match to your skills, abilities, and temperament but the thought of interviewing has you stuck in neutral, work hardest on what you fear most:
If you don’t how to respond to open ended questions, get a list of them and get to work on your responses. Get them so grooved that you can’t wait for a chance to answer them, in fact, create opportunities to answer them.
If you’re so introverted you can’t bear the thought of networking, stop reading this column right now and make an appointment with someone who can help you find a job.
If you’re a first class procrastinator and arrive late for every appointment you make, change your behavior today. All day. Everyday. When you give your word, honor your obligation. You’re defined by your actions, not by your best intentions.
If you see yourself as a non-conformist, wearing clothes that fit your mood rather than fitting the occasion, change your mood to business casual. Keep your mood there for as long as it takes to get a job.
If you struggle to smile because you’re not into smiling, think of something funny, and beam, grin, and laugh out loud. Get into the habit of having something pleasant plastered across your face.
If you can’t seem to stop talking when you’re nervous, work on calming your nerves. Turn apprehension into aspiration. Role-play your practice sessions with a live audience; invite individuals from a variety of experiences and backgrounds to grill you until you’re well done. And know this: if you’re really prepared you should expect to feel tension before show time; that means you’re anxious to enjoy the experience.
If you’re talking in circles instead of getting to the point, you don’t know the point you’re trying to make. Figure out where you’re going before you start talking, then begin your response with your conclusion.
If you rely on joke telling to lighten the mood and your idea of funny doesn’t match that of most interviewers, take the hint, don’t tell jokes. Instead, follow the interviewer’s lead. If she asks questions, answer them. If she asks for explanations, give them. If she asks you to tell a joke, take a pass.
If you have trouble listening to what others are saying, you’re engaging in the conversation that’s going on in your head. When you interview (and any time you’re with others) focus on the speaker, and confirm your understanding of questions or viewpoints by restating what they’ve said before responding with your perspective.
If you over-sell your interest and over-toot your talent, you’ll wind up with a job that breaks you down, burns you up, or bums you out. An interview should be a discussion aimed at evaluating qualifications that determine fit; those of the applicant for the job, as well as the job for the applicant.
If your interview style is “I have a hammer and you don’t” and hitting people over the head isn’t getting you any job offers, put down that hammer. Instead of coming across as a tell-all, know-it-all, let the interviewer be the expert. Ask open-ended questions and listen, probe to learn more, stroke your chin, and say things like, “ahhh, yes, I understand…”.
Two of the biggest mistakes you can make on an interview are thinking you have the answers when you don’t know what the problems are, and thinking you know the problems when you don’t know what the answers are. Change your thinking and you’ll improve your prospects for success.
